By IFEOMA Ikem

Okpai community in Ndokwa East is a host community to Agrip Oil Company, Delta, where the company manages the largest gas plant in sub-Saharan Africa.
National Daily gathered that the community demanded 50 million naira for the death of a crocodile during the process of company’s operational activity in the area
It was learnt that the incident occurred on Friday,18 of August, 2017.

A source told our reporter that the crocodile is a deity in Okpai community which they believe on and worship which they commit their affairs annually.
Further gathered that the community has stopped all the activities of the company in the area until funeral ceremony is carried out to appease the god of their land.
According to the source he said before work will start in any of the Agrip site the crocodile must be given a befitting burial to avoid disaster in their community by ancestors.

Thonybayo:
Hi everyone,

This is a detailed timeline of my entire application process.

July 6th - Applied online.

July 10th - Data capture and interview

July 11th- Email from tls indicating that my application has been submitted

July 19th- Email from sheffield

August 18th - I checked the ukvi tracking website and application had been decided on

August 21st - tls sent me a decision mail and a pick up mail

August 22 - i picked up my approved passport


Much thanks to everyone that has ever contributed positively to this thread, your ideas, tips and generous suggestions is everything needed for a successful application.

I wish everyone still awaiting a decision a positive response.

P.S Is there anyone attending R.G.U this september ??

i am going to RGU, this September, 2017.

By Yinka Kolawole, Charles Kumolu, Dapo Akinrefon & Gbenga Oke
ABUJA — Over N400 billion was paid out to public officials as bribes in Nigeria between June 2015 and May 2016, a government report disclosed, yesterday.
According to the report computed by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the highest incidents of bribery occurred during encounters with the police, though the bribe received by policemen was often below the average bribe taken by public officials.
While nearly one out of every two encounters with the police led to one form of bribe or the other, the report further puts bribe-taking to be more prevalent among judicial and law-enforcement agencies.
The rate of bribe-taking spread with prosecutors at 33 per cent, closely followed by judges and magistrates, at 31.5 per cent; car registration/driving licence officers (28.5 per cent); tax and Customs officers (27.3 per cent); road traffic management officials (25.5 per cent), public utilities officers (22.4 per cent) and land registry officers (20.9 per cent).
The report immediately received strong reactions from some strong public commentators, including Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, former Commissioner of Police and Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, who said it was indicative of the fact that corruption was still pervasive, despite the change in administration.
Prof. Itse Sagay, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Anti-Corruption, however, described the report as vague, saying he could not comment on it.
In the report titled, “Corruption in Nigeria: Bribery – Public Experience and Response 2017”, NBS also noted that bribery was not limited to the public sector, as there were cases of corruption in the private sector as well.
“Taking into account the fact that nine out of every 10 bribes paid to public officials in Nigeria are paid in cash and the size of the payments made, it is estimated that the total amount of bribes paid to public officials in Nigeria in the 12 months prior to the survey was around N400 billion, the equivalent of $4.6 billion in purchasing power parity, PPP.
This sum is equivalent to 39 per cent of the combined federal and state education budgets in 2016. Bribe-payers in Nigeria spend an eighth of their salary on bribes.
“The average sum paid as a cash bribe in Nigeria is approximately N5,300, which is equivalent to roughly $61 – PPP. This means that every time a Nigerian pays a cash bribe, he or she spends an average of about 28.2 per cent of the average monthly salary of approximately N18,900. Since bribe-payers in Nigeria pay an average of 5.8 bribes over the course of one year, 92 per cent of which are paid in cash, they spend an average of N28,200 annually on cash bribes equivalent to 12.5 per cent of the annual average salary,” the report stated.
33% adults paid bribes
NBS also noted that almost one-third of Nigerian adults paid bribes when in contact with public officials within the survey period.
“Almost a third of Nigerian adults (32.3 per cent) who had contact with a public official between June 2015 and May 2016 had to pay, or were requested to pay, a bribe to that public official.
“The magnitude of public sector bribery in Nigeria becomes even more palpable when factoring in the frequency of those payments, as the majority of those who paid a bribe to a public official did so more than once over the course of the year. “According to the survey, bribe-payers in Nigeria pay an average of some six bribes in one year, or roughly one bribe every two months. On average, almost one bribe is paid by every adult Nigerian per year.
“By combining the total number of people who paid a bribe to a public official with the frequency of those payments, it is estimated that a total of roughly 82.3 million bribes were paid in Nigeria in the 12 months prior to the survey.
“This results in an average of 0.93 bribes paid per adult, or almost one bribe paid by every adult Nigerian per year,” NBS added in the report.
Bribery in private sector
NBS further stated: “As elsewhere, corruption and bribery in Nigeria are not only limited to interactions between the public and public officials, but also take place between the public and employees of private sector entities (businesses).
“Nigerians experience bribery in various private sector exchanges when they come into contact with employees in the private sector with a certain decision-making power or who can provide access to coveted goods or services.
“These can include, admission to a private school; preferential school grades; favourable treatment in private hospitals in exchange for a payment that personally benefits a nurse or doctor; access to a bank loan that may otherwise be denied or to avoid thorough controls in the insurance sector.
“For the purposes of the survey, six types of private sector employees were selected, doctors in private hospitals, nurses in private hospitals, teachers in private schools, employees in private banks, employees in private insurance companies and others. In contrast to the 52.2 per cent of adult Nigerians who had contact with a public official, only one out of four (25.2 per cent) had contact with any of these six types of private sector employees during the 12 months prior to the survey, yet, though lower than the prevalence of public sector bribery, the prevalence of bribery among persons who paid a bribe to private sector employees is still significant, reaching 5.5 per cent at the national level (6.1 per cent in rural areas; 4.7 per cent in urban areas).”
Motive
“The vast majority of bribery episodes in Nigeria are initiated either directly or indirectly by public officials (85.3 per cent) and almost 70 per cent of bribes are paid before a service is rendered.
“With such a large portion of public officials initiating bribes, which are paid up front, it seems that many public officials show little hesitation in asking for a kickback to carry out their duty and that bribery is an established part of the administrative procedure in Nigeria.
“The survey shows that a large proportion of bribes in Nigeria (42 per cent) are paid to speed up or finalize an administrative procedure that may otherwise be delayed for long periods or even indefinitely, thus making bribery the most effective option for facilitating that service. The second largest proportion of bribes (18 per cent) is paid to avoid the payment of a fine, a frequent request in citizens’ encounters with the police, while 13 per cent of all bribes are paid to avoid the cancellation of public utility services, an indication that the provision of the most basic amenities, including water and sanitation, can be subject to abuse of power by public officials in Nigeria.
Who takes bribes?
Police officers are the public officials to whom bribes are most commonly paid in Nigeria. Of all adult Nigerians who had direct contact with a police officer in the 12 months prior to the survey, almost half (46.4 per cent) paid that officer at least one bribe, and in many cases more than one since police officers are also among the three types of public official to whom bribes are paid most frequently (5.3 bribes per bribe-payer over the course of 12 months) in Nigeria.
“At the same time, the average bribe paid to police officers is somewhat below the average bribe size.
“Although fewer people come into contact with judiciary officials than with police officers over the course of the year, when they do, the risk of bribery is considerable: at 33 per cent, the prevalence of bribery in relation to prosecutors is the second highest, closely followed by judges and magistrates, at 31.5 per cent. The experience of corruption in encounters with public officials whose duty it is to uphold the rule of law can lead to the erosion of trust in public authority.
“Other public officials with a high risk of bribery include car registration/driving licence officers (28.5 per cent), tax and custom officers (27.3 per cent), road traffic management officials (25.5 per cent), public utilities officers (22.4 per cent) and land registry officers (20.9 per cent). This shows that corruption takes place across a number of different sectors of the public administration and that certain public officials have a disproportionate impact on the daily lives of Nigerians,” the NBS survey reported.
Methodology
For the main survey, NBS said a total of 33,067 interviews were conducted across the 37 states with persons aged 18 and older.
“The sampling methodology adopted is a stratified random sampling, with a stratification process conducted at the state level. Stratified random sampling is a sampling method that requires dividing the population into smaller groups (or strata) and drawing a randomized sample within each stratum.
“In this case, the strata are represented by the 37 Nigerian states (36 states and the Federal Capital Territory) and within each state, the (adult) population was extracted randomly.
“In each of the 37 states, between 779 and 900 interviews were conducted. To make survey results at the state level representative at the national level, for the analysis of the data after the survey, the sample size was adjusted (“weighted”) for the size of the population in each state.
“Weighting ensures that the distribution of the sample across states reflects the actual distribution of the population,” NBS stated.
Police not corrupt — FPRO
Reacting, last night, police Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Jimoh Moshood, said: “Nigerian police as an institution is not corrupt. There are mechanisms in place to deal with corrupt individuals, like X-Squad and PCRRU. NBS has not presented empirical facts to show that police is corrupt. IGP Ibrahim does not condone corruption and has directed Cps, Zonal AIGs to visit the law on any corrupt police officer.”
I’m not surprised, says Tsav
Reacting to the report, a retired Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav said: ‘’I am not surprised because the level of corruption in that era was so much. It was a period when the issue of corruption was not taken seriously. With that kind of attitude, it is therefore, not surprising that people paid that much in bribes.”
The government is not fighting any corruption — Mohammed
In his reaction, second Republic lawmaker, Dr Junaid Mohammed, said: “It is unfortunate that these monies are not only entering individuals hands but it is also moving out of the country. However, I am not surprised about the statistics released and if they are to be believed, then all we are being told about anti-corruption war is just a farce. It means all the monies claimed to have been recovered so far have not been returned to the treasury and it shows total absence of government in Nigeria and I strongly believe Nigeria cannot survive this leakages.”


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/08/public-officials-took-n400bn-bribe-in-1-year-nbs/

jagadab:
I have an admission letter from the university of Aberdeen and its starts January 2018 and not September this year can I use it or I should search for another school

yes you can, please can I speak with you ASAP; as regard your admission letter from university of aberdeen. thank you

the Niger Delta leaders are the most wicked people we have on earth, they ride on their people back claiming marginalisation by the federal government, when they line their own pockets they castigate their people and milk them, the problems of the Niger Delta is the elites

it is so pathetic that the NDDC is playing with the lives of the scholars after 6 month nothing till now.
please lalatisca front page.

Good day sir, am a MSc scholar, my school Robert Gordon University is scheduled to resume on the 22nd January, 2017 as the earliest enrollment date and 30th January, 2017 as the start date, I am yet to apply for Visa and hoping to do so before the month ends, I will want to know if I can still apply after the 22nd January, 2017 the earliest enrollment date. Sir, I will like to know if I can still apply for Visa after the scheduled date or I will just defer the scholarship till September, 2017 due to paucity of funds.

silly urohbo fools, you want to feed where you do not sow, how many of your youths has taken arms to fight the marginalisation by the Federal Government, have your communities ever been burnt and razed down by the military? how many of your youth, old man and woman been killed and girls raped because of the black Gold. the Ijaws have made a lot of sacrifice and deserve there position. they label the Ijaws militants you sit back and play the ostrich, now things are beginning to happen you wan come chop.
if you think you are marginalised carry your own arms and agitate you will get recognition

it's an irritation and a disgust that the NDDC which was created for the development of the Niger Delta as turn to a private venture and profit racketeering organisation for our politicians, the foreign post graduate scholarship scheme of the NDDC for human development is not an exception. we claim that we are being marginalized in this country but we are the one that created such platform, why won't the rest of Nigerians ask us what have we done with what they have given us, what will it take the NDDC to inform us the scholars through any media medium if the scheme is still going to be awarded to scholars this year or not, I know if it is ex militants they could have taken some measures by now which could have made the NDDC respond swiftly. the scholarship scheme is a right and not a privilege because it is for the development of the Niger Delta. the NDDC should do the needful and stop making us hang in limbo.

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IJAW MILITANTS ANY BODY THAT TERRORIZING OR MAIM ANYBODY IS A CRIMINAL AND PLEASE DO NOT ISOLATE IT TO THE IJAWS, NO IJAW WE GO AROUND IN ANOTHER MAN'S LAND KILLING AND MAIMING PEOPLE FOR UNJUSTICEFIABLE REASON. PLEASE DON'T MENTION THE IJAW'S FOR ANYTHING CRIMINALITY WE FIGHT FOR WHAT RIGHTLY BELONGS FOR US NOT CRIMINALITY LIKE KILLING AND MAIMING PEOPLE.

feruchii:
walton the Barr. long tym guy ;Dwalton the Barr. long tym guy

hw ur side and abj.

ferruchi the man who attended Nigerian Navy Primary and Secondary Schools

who as gotten text from any of the Centre?

manneger2:
6A Olumeni Street Old GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria, did u receive text msage?

I didn't receive text but my name is on the list.

where is port Harcourt office located

please where is bayelsa state screening taking place?

viqueta:
sorry guys have not been online, now am ready to send the question, just quote this comment with ur email address so that i can send it to a large number of people rather than sending it batch by batch

please send to tariwalton@gmail.com

please send the past questions to my mail tariwalton@gmail.com

please I need the past question tariwalton@gmail.com

Dear nairalander, Am in need of a supplement/drug that will make me add weight and build muscles without much stress, please your advice is needed on a recommended supplement/drug.
Thank you

saraki OYO for you, no more escort to the tribunal again, no more PDP vote of confidence you are on your own.

please where is the Bayelsa centre.

if you claim oliseh metuh the spokesman of the PDP is busybody, then what does this picture connote

The Federal, state and local governments received N307.45 billion
(excluding deductions and transfers) from the federation
account’s 13 per cent derivation fund.
According to the monthly economic report of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) for April, the Federal Government received N146.49
billion, while the state and local governments received N74.30
billion and N57.28 billion, respectively. The balance of N29.38
billion was distributed to the oil-producing states as 13 per cent
Derivation Fund.
Federally collected revenue (gross) in April 2015 was estimated at
N735.07 billion, showing an increase of 35.8 per cent above the
receipts in the preceding month, but was lower than the receipts
in the corresponding period of 2014 by 8.4 per cent.
At
N286.24
billion, oil
receipts
(gross),
which
constituted 38.9 per cent of total revenue, was lower than the
receipts in the preceding month and the corresponding period of
2014, by 21.5 and 54.0 per cent, respectively. The fall in oil
receipts relative to the level in the preceding month, was
attributed to the decline in revenue from crude oil and gas
exports, occasioned by the drop in the prices of crude oil in the
international market.
From the VAT Pool Account, the Federal Government received
N10.25 billion, while the state and local governments received
N34.17 billion and N23.92 billion, respectively. The apex bank
added that the sums of N33.53 billion and N9.49 billion were
distributed as Exchange Gain and Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC).
“Additional revenue among the three tiers of government and the
13 per cent Derivation Fund as follows: The Federal Government
received (N15.37 billion and N4.35 billion), while the state and
local governments received (N7.79 billion and N2.21 billion) and
(N6.01 billion and N1.70 billion), respectively.
The balance (N4.36 billion and N1.23 billion) was distributed to
the oil- producing states as 13 per cent Derivation Fund.
“Furthermore, the sum of N6.33 billion was received by the
Federal Government from the NNPC in respect of the 8th equal
installment refund of indebtedness.
Overall, the total allocation to the three tiers of government from
the Federation Account and VAT Pool Account in the review
month amounted to N425.14 billion, compared with N557.80
billion in the preceding month”, it added.
It stated that at N286.24 billion or 38.9 per cent of total revenue,
gross oil receipt was lower than the monthly budget estimate in
the preceding month by 36.8 and 21.5 per cent, respectively.
The report attributed the decline in oil receipts relative to the
monthly budget estimate to the fall in receipts from crude oil and
gas exports, occasioned by the drop in the price of crude oil in the
international oil market.

my phone has been getting sms alert too much today..... one of those spam messages from mtn my phone has been getting sms alert too much today..... one of those spam messages from mtn

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday pledged that Nigeria will
continue to support all efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution of
the Middle East conflict.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media
and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President made the promise
while granting audience to the outgoing Palestinian Ambassador to
Nigeria, Dr. Montaser Abuzaid, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Shehu said Buhari reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for the Palestinian
cause during the parley.
Buhari assured Abuzaid that his administration will maintain and
strengthen bilateral ties with Palestine.
The President wished the outgoing ambassador well in his future
assignments.
In his remarks, Abuzaid extended the goodwill of Palestinian
President Mahmud Abbas to Nigeria and congratulated President
Buhari on his assumption of office after a peaceful transition.
He appealed for more support from the Nigerian government for
Palestinian companies interested in doing business in Nigeria,
particularly in the area of construction and provision of critical
infrastructure.

www.punchng.com/news/buhari-pledges-support-for-peace-efforts-in-meast/

The Borno State governor, Kassim Ibrahim,
yesterday appealed to the president-elect,
General Muhammadu Buhari (retd, to
allocate 13 per cent of petroleum revenue
to the North East region which has been
ravaged by insurgency when he assumes
office.
The governor, who made the demand
known in a paper which he is expected to
deliver today at Day-Two of a conference
organised by the Savannah Centre for
Diplomacy, Democracy and Development
(SCDDD), asserted that the current
insurgency was the direct outcome of the
inequality in oil revenue distribution.
The governor, at the conference which has
the theme, ‘Post-2015 Elections
Conference on Security and Governance
Challenges in Africa’s Largest Democracy’,
urged the incoming All Progressive
Congress (APC) government to
immediately recommend the allocation of
at least 13 % of revenue derived from
petroleum resources in addition to the
usual monthly location to the states in
north eastern Nigeria to ameliorate their
plight.
The governor’s position was contained in a
paper entitled ‘Holistic Approach for the
Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the
North East Nigeria Region Ravaged by
Terrorism and Insurgency: The National
and International Policy Options/
Perspectives’, which is to be delivered at
the event by his representative and
secretary, Borno Elders Forum, Dr Bulama
Mala Gubio, expressed regret that the
petroleum deposit in the North East had
been left untapped.
Governor Shettima also called for the
establishment of a special intervention
programme to salvage the region from
socio-economic deprivation on the one
hand and environmental degradation on
the other, which, he said, would lead to
desertification and drought with their
consequent imbalance in ecological
dynamics.
“Importantly, it is necessary for the federal
government to recommend the allocation
of at least 13 % of revenue derived from
petroleum resources in addition to the
usual monthly allocation to states in north
eastern Nigeria in order to improve equity
in the share of resources. Moreover, there
is untapped petroleum in the North East.
This will go a long way in improving
national security, since inequality in the
allocation of resources is one of the most
significant factors in the current raging
insurgency affecting the region and
threatening to engulf the outside world.
“Therefore, we are calling for the
establishment of a special intervention
programme to salvage the region from
socio-economic deprivation on one hand
and environmental degradation on the
other hand which leads to desertification
and droughts with the consequent
imbalance in ecological dynamics. It is our
firm belief that this will go a long way to
address the current socio-economic
upheavals experienced in the region,” he
noted.
Shettima lamented that the North East
region, particularly Borno State, was facing
dire environmental and humanitarian crises
requiring urgent intervention and stressed
that such intervention would include
rehabilitation, stabilization and re-
integration of the victims to normal life, re-
building of broken down infrastructures, as
well as re-integrating the insurgents back
to normal society through proper
education and debriefing.
The governor, in the paper, called on
Nigerians to join hands to rebuild the
region, noting that, at the moment, the
states of the region were facing their fate
alone.
Shettima called on the SCDDD to highlight
the plight of the states of the region to the
world with a view to eliciting assistance.
…APC’s victory laid June 12 ghost to rest
– Kingibe
Meanwhile, chairman of the conference,
and former vice presidential candidate of
the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP)
which won the annulled June 12, 1992,
presidential election, Ambassador
Babagana Kingibe, in his opening remarks,
said APC’s victory over the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the April general
election had finally laid the ghost of the
annulled June 12 election to rest.
According to Kingibe, Nigerians who were
already fed up with the misrule and non-
performance of the PDP spoke in one voice
and acted in unity to remove the party
from power.
“In Nigeria, we are living in the very
exciting, challenging and interesting times.
The divisiveness was an effort made by the
political party but it was rejected by
Nigerians and the other party that resolved
not react accordingly. Efforts at dividing
our people will not succeed. People are
united in requesting democracy and
freedom.
“For me, for the first time since 1992,
perhaps Nigerians have purged themselves
of the ghost of June 12. Several
paradigms manifested. Perhaps now, the
ghost of June 12 can rest due to the effort
made by all through these years of trials
and tribulations,” he said.
Keynote speaker at the event, Major-
General Ishola Williams (retd) called for the
scrapping of the appellations of
‘Excellency’, ‘distinguished’ and
‘honourable’ ascribed to elected officials
and other public servants, saying that
most of those officials do not merit the
titles.
According to him, Nigerian remains one
the poorest countries in the world yet most
of the officials live in opulence.
While lamenting the neglect of huge
volumes of reports, whitepapers and other
documents, he said, should aid
government to improve the socio
economic situation of the people, he called
on the incoming government to
immediately dust and implement them.
Chairman and Founder of SCDDD, Prof.
Ibrahim Gambari, pointed out that the
general goal and objectives of the two-day
event was to interface with representatives
of the international community in Nigeria,
leading Nigerian scholars, media experts,
party leaders, researchers in the fields of
defence, security, extremism and terrorism,
economic and political governance,
international monetary and financial
institutions and other relevant
stakeholders, to debate on strategies that
would best address issues of security and
governance in Nigeria and her immediate
neighbours, the sub-region and Africa.
The event attracted highly influential
Nigerians and members of the diplomatic
community who played various roles in
ensuring that the last general election was
peaceful, free, fair and transparent.

Alert should start entering this week oh!
am tired of waiting for 3 months chai!